Il Divo (Film 2008)

Il Divo (The Celebrity, or more literally The Divine, from Latin divus, "god") is a 2008 Italian biographical drama film directed by Paolo Sorrentino. Audio in Italian with English subtitles.

The film is based on the figure of former Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti. It competed at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008, where it was awarded the Jury Prize. Andreotti was sometimes called Divo Giulio (hence the title of the film), from Latin Divus Julius (Divine Julius), an epithet of Julius Caesar after his posthumous deification.

The narration covers Andreotti's seventh election in 1992, his failed bid for the presidency of the Italian Republic, the bribe scandal Tangentopoli and his trial in 1995. He was the most powerful and prominent politician of the so-called First Republic (post war Italy). He achieved cabinet rank at a young age and occupied all the major offices of state over the course of a forty-year political career. At the height of his statesman career, Andreotti was subjected to criminal prosecutions and charged with colluding with Cosa Nostra. Courts managed to prove that he was undoubtedly linked with them until 1980, however the case was closed due to past statutes of limitations.

The most sensational allegation came from prosecutors in Perugia, who charged him with ordering the murder of the journalist, Mino Pecorelli. He was found guilty at a trial, which led to complaints that the justice system had "gone mad". After being acquitted of all charges (in part due to statute-barred limitations), Andreotti remarked, "Apart from the Punic Wars, for which I was too young, I have been blamed for everything that's happened in Italy."

Andreotti served in numerous ministerial positions, including as Minister of the Interior (1954 and 1978), Minister of Finance (1955–58), Minister of Treasury (1958–59), Minister of Defence (1959–66 and 1974), Minister of Budget and Economic Planning (1974–76) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1983–89) and was a Senator for life from 1991 until his death in 2013. He was also a journalist and author.

As the film opens, Giulio Andreotti gives an inner monologue observing how he has managed to survive his tumultuous political career while his various detractors have died. A montage shows the murders of various people connected to Andreotti, including journalist Mino Pecorelli, Carabinieri general Carlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa, bankers Michele Sindona and Roberto Calvi, and former Prime Minister Aldo Moro.